[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Honda Bigwing has announced the opening of bookings for the Rebel 500. The bike will be launched exclusively through the Bigwing Topline dealerships at Mumbai, Bangalore and Gurugram.

The Rebel 500 is a cruiser bike that will reportedly be imported as a CBU, similar to the platform sibling - the Honda NX500. It is powered by a 471cc, parallel-twin cylinder engine that produces 45 BHP @ 8,500 rpm and 44.6 Nm @ 6,000 rpm

When launched, the Honda Rebel 500 will directly rival the Kawasaki Eliminator 500 in the Indian market.

[neochanger]

Honda Bigwing Official handle on X has just posted this: Bookings open for Rebel 500.

Although there’s no word on price, detailed specs or anything else useful yet. But it’s clear Rebel has finally joined their 500-600 cc lineup in India. Maybe, the Rebel 300 would join the Bigwing showrooms soon as per ACI reports surfaced earlier.

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Honda Bigwing has announced the opening of bookings for the Rebel 500. The bike will be launched exclusively through the Bigwing Topline dealerships at Mumbai, Bangalore and Gurugram.

Honda launches the Rebel 500 in India at 5.12L



Courtesy - Autocar India

Can't understand the logic though. It's the cheapest of the 500s and they want to limit it's availabllility to just 3 showrooms? And why didn't they consider the CBR500R as a viable option before bringing the relatively niche Rebel. It could've been the perfect Ninja 500 rival.

[Raghu2284]

I checked the BigWing Topline website and i see it is listed in the home page. The launch seems quite understated, with the availability limited to just a few dealerships. Additionally, the only color option is black. It appears they are adopting Kawasaki's strategy for the cruiser segment by offering just one color.

[Boringrider]

Typical overpriced Honda. If I was in the market today, I would blindly pick the Super Meteor and be very happy with my decision. It has more torque than this engine. Even the long term reliability is proven. Not sure how much Honda takes care of it's customers in the service experience department. From my knowledge and guess, not really.

The only benefit this has is approximately 50kgs lesser weight than the RE. Should start making some sense after some price cuts. Right now, it sits in between RE SM650 and Vulcan S. 45 bhp & 45Nm at this pricing is unacceptable to me.

[dkaile]

This Honda twin could sell. Cannot be compared with RE. 5.1L is a good price point to entice buyers to pay the premium for a world class product, not a half baked one like their 350 series.

Cheers...

[neochanger]

Originally Posted by Boringrider

Typical overpriced Honda. If I was in the market today, I would blindly pick the Super Meteor and be very happy with my decision. It has more torque than this engine. Even the long term reliability is proven…
45 bhp & 45Nm at this pricing is unacceptable to me.

I don’t think this has any comparison with RE in terms of refinement, body balance, quality of parts used and overall research that has gone into making this product over the years. Yes, the price is on higher side and BigWing network is also way poor than RE. But, there’s no doubt Rebel as the product is better. If someone wants to keep the cruiser for long term, Honda should be the choice. RE SM650 is for those who don’t want to spent that much for a cruiser.

PS: It’s a cruiser, meant to be driven on Indian roads, not the track. So, any motorcycle with more than 40 hp and 40 NM is more than enough for the speeds we usually do on Indian roads, even with a pillion and luggage. I don’t think power figures are any issue as long as one doesn’t care for things on paper.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by neochanger

I don’t think this has any comparison with RE in terms of refinement, body balance, quality of parts used and overall research that has gone into making this product over the years. Yes, the price is on higher side and BigWing network is also way poor than RE. But, there’s no doubt Rebel as the product is better.

Of course we dont value the home-grown product against a Honda, but international comparisons pick the Super Meteor despite a higher price than the Rebel 500 (and even the Kawasaki Vulcan 650)

https://youtu.be/dXIZO3ESJM0?si=Kyf8FD-QLx10AZbS

[Boringrider]

Originally Posted by neochanger

I don’t think this has any comparison with RE in terms of refinement, body balance, quality of parts used and overall research that has gone into making this product over the years.

All these sound like subjective preferences than objective statements, which is fine btw. Honda lovers and fans may see the premium as worth it over the RE. But saying that RE's refinement and parts quality has no comparison is simply not true. For the price at which it is sold at, it does hit the mark solidly.

Power figures are not important on cruisers, agreed but torque numbers definitely are. By your logic, Indian roads should never have a single superbike/supercar, yet we see so many.

[neochanger]

Originally Posted by Boringrider

But saying that RE's refinement and parts quality has no comparison is simply not true. For the price at which it is sold at, it does hit the mark solidly.

Power figures are not important on cruisers, agreed but torque numbers definitely are. By your logic, Indian roads should never have a single superbike/supercar, yet we see so many.

Quality and refinement thing is my personal experience. I have extensively ridden motorcycles of RE and Honda in 350 cc category and my judgement is based on that. It may be possible that in the higher segment, RE offers better quality of parts. But I am not that sure about refinement.
Superbikes and supercars have a different purpose than cruisers and luxury cars. If one’s purpose is to cruise and do long rides, Rebel’s power seems enough.

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by neochanger

Quality and refinement thing is my personal experience. I have extensively ridden motorcycles of RE and Honda in 350 cc category and my judgement is based on that. It may be possible that in the higher segment, RE offers better quality of parts. But I am not that sure about refinement.
Superbikes and supercars have a different purpose than cruisers and luxury cars. If one’s purpose is to cruise and do long rides, Rebel’s power seems enough.

But does it actually have the most important qualities of a cruiser? The character, the burble, and the classic aesthetics. I'm no RE fan but I fail to see a significant number of cruiser fans buying a Rebel over the 650s. Sure, it's nice to have it in the market and it's decently priced for a CBU. But it's a Honda in all the wrong ways. Secondly, it's only available through 3 showrooms. That'll ensure this product dies a quick death like many Japanese cruisers in the past.

[Redline6800]

Honda Rebel 500 Brochure. I'm happy that Honda is bringing more bikes from its international portfolio here. While some of them may not be sales champions, they will perform the much needed function of drawing customers to dealerships.

Rebel_500_Black_Brochure.pdf

[tasty911]

Originally Posted by Redline6800

Honda Rebel 500 Brochure.

Attachment 2758977

Phew 125mm ground clearance. Wonder how it will survive in a city like Bangalore.

[Eric Rasputin]

The brochure doesn't seem to indicate that they're launching the DCT version as well in India.

If they did, I would be regretting this massively as I've been waiting for years for one of the DCT Rebels to come to India and I just bought a new bike last week.

[Raghu2284]

Originally Posted by Eric Rasputin

I would be regretting this massively as I've been waiting for years for one of the DCT Rebels to come to India and I just bought a new bike last week.

DCT is not offered in this and I don't think they are going sell DCT with the price point.